Wire fence



UNITED `STAT-Es l JOHN L. RITER, ou BRoW'NsvILLE, INDIANA. i

PATENT OFFICE.-

SPECIFICATION lfemme part of Lettere PatentNo. 51 1,458, dated December 26, 1893. e

' Application filed August 25,1892. Serial No. 444,071. (No model.)

To all whom it may concer-n:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. RITER,-of Brownsvilla'in the county of Union and State will enable others skilled in theart to which n purpose.

it appertains to make and use the same. l My invention relates to an improvement in wire fencesand more particularly to the cables employed in constructing the fence, the object being to provide cables, each sufficiently elastic to yield or give under pressure and resume or fly back into its normal posi-` tion as soon as the pressure is withdrawn, and

also free to expand or contract and adapt it\ self to changes in temperature Withoutinjury.

With these ends in view my invention consists of a cable made of steel wire bent into spiral form. e

My invention further consists of the parts and combinations of parts as will be more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a viewin elevation of a section of a fence embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view of a section of one of the cables. Fig. 3 shows a barbed cable and Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of one of the posts.1

Heretofore wire fences have been constructed of flat and round wire corrugated or bent into zig-zag form for the purpose of rendering it elastic. While a fence constructed of this material is elastic to a certain extent the fibers of the wire at the bends are ruptured by the process of bending and the wire necessarily weakened and rendered unfit for the I take preferably round steel wire of suitable thickness and coil it spirally as shown, making preferablytwo to six rounds or coils in the Wire to the foot. The diameter of the tions. The cables can if desired be barbed f as shown in Fig. 3.' The wires or cables A are secured at their ends to the posts B and are supported at one or more points Abetween posts BA by the pivoted posts or supports C.

These postsor supports are preferably made of sheet metal bent into approximately U- shaped form transversely and provided at their side edges withlianges a. The outer.

bles and preferably bend them slightly out of a straight line.

By providing the posts with slots located at predetermined and regular distances apart, the cables can be placed nearer together or farther apart at any point throughout the height of the fences ascircuxnstances demand. Another object in locating the slots close together and at regular intervals apart is that it enables me to make the locksD direct from the posts, by `severing the latter at points between the slots thus forming the locks each having a single slot. These locks D are each made of sheet metal bent to form agroo've or gutter in -one face and' a correspondingly shaped ridge on its other face the ridge being A slotted to receive the cable. The locks are first placed on the cable after which the stay rods'E are inserted in place thus locking the parts together and preventing the cables from being spread apart. These4 locks are not nspecifically claimed herein as they form the subject for a separate application tiled August 31, 1893, Serial No. 444,648.'

The posts A are strengthened by braces F which latter are located in position to support the posts against strains exerted in the direction of length of the cables. .The posts can be secured to the metal anchor Gembedded in the ground as shown at the left hand of Fig. l or they can be secured to the sup- IOO ports H carried by the braces F as shown lat the right hand of Fig. 1.

By employing spiral cables as shown, :the

It is evident that numerous slight changest might be resorted `to iin fthe v`relative `arrange-` ment of parts herein shown without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention. I-lence I would have it understood that I `do not limit myself to the exact construction shown .and described; but,

-Having 'fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desiretoisecnrebylietters any number of inches apart desired, com- Patent, is-

il. Ina metallic fence'a :series of metallic `cables 'each .made .of .a singlelwine spirally coiled,iand v:the .cables arranged on parallel ilines to eachother,` combined with .aeseriesv-Mof .flocks an dia :.-keythe` cablesiresting `imrecesses in the iloc'ksuand beingheId-iaplace by,a\key, `one ifaee -of Wwhich .bearslagainstithe cable and .the opposite .ifaceiof .which rests qagainst the .innemface of thelockthe locl ,key,.and ca- -ble Abeing gpressedloutiof a wright alineat .their .pointof rcontact,-fwherbyiall .the parts #will `be locked lfirmly togetherfall constr noted.1 and combined,substantiallyaas fhereinfshown and described.

`2. In l aifenceaseries of -metalliccableseach `madeotXaSingle rWire-ispirallycoiled.y and :the cables arranged onrlines parallel toeach other,

'combined with `a series of rigid )posts land an intermediate-pest orpostslpiwotalhyconnected at their'base`s,all the partsbeing constructed and combined substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In a metallic fence the combination with icablesyola.metalliclpost supporting the cables, the said post consisting of converging braces, a cross piece connecting said braces anda post proper connected to the braces and to the cross piece, substantially as set forth.

Af. Thepost having recesses.onslotsprefen ablya't regular andshort intervals apart its tullilength `wherebyethe cables maybe placed bined with a series-lohcableseach@made of fa single Wireaspirallgr coiled and rthescables beingiarran ged ron lines A,.parallel itu leach tether .and leach cahlemestingjn .a irccess lin .thegpost aurlisaidY cables fbeimg held ,in place f-byla [key Aextending .approximately the length of the JOHN L. fRITER.

Witnesses 0. M. lBaLL, G. F. DOWNIG. 

